Review: Y Not Festival

Sarah Bould

After going to Y Not Festival for the first time at the weekend I was left wondering why I had never been before.

Now in its tenth year, Y Not, which takes place at Pikehall, has a great feel about it. So much so that I doubt I’ll ever go any of the bigger mainstream festivals again.

We arrived on Friday, put up our tent (with the help of three strangers) and went to explore what Y Not had to offer. We dipped in and out of the tents, starting at The Quarry stage, where we stayed to listen to the act who were performing at the time.

A full reccy of the festival revealed a shisha tent, a roller disco, a big wheel, a lter skelter and saloon bar - there was loads to do if while waiting for your favourite band to come one as long as you don’t mind spending a few quid.

The Super Furry Animals were on the main stage at 8pm, the highlight being them coming on in animals costumes for the last song. We then went The Allotment stage to kill an hour before Snoop Dog was due on the main stage. Lisbon where the band on at the time and they had some pretty decent tunes. I’ll be listening out for them in the future.

Afterwards we headed back to see Snoop Dog, who in true celebrity style, was 15 minutes late coming on. Snoop is what many people at Y Not had come for and the crowd went wild as he performed his big hits including Drop it Like It’s Hot, Sweat and What’s My Name. He even smoked a spliff on stage, much to the crowds delight. Most of his best stuff is from years ago and I had forgotten just how many of his songs I actually like.

Snoop also gave a shout out to the ladies of Matlock, which made me chuckle. Snoop Dog performing in a field near Matlock, it doesn’t get more random than that.

On Saturday we checked out the other stages, mainly to avoid the rain, before heading back for Ocean Colour Scene and headliners Basement Jaxx, who ended the evening on a high with their bright costumes and funky dance tracks.

That was the end of the festival for us. We packed up our tent, hangovers included, on Sunday morning and went home. It was a great festival and I’ll definitely be back next year. Infact tickets are already on sale.